Grounds and Gardens Manager

Nestled in 250 acres of beautiful Dorset parkland, Canford School is one of the leading co-educational boarding and day schools in the UK educating some 660 pupils aged 13-18. With a commanding reputation built on excellent academic achievement, breadth of education and a fresh lively approach, Canford also offers a superb sports and co-curricular programme which is seen as amongst the best in the independent sector.

The recent announcement of the creation of the Canford Schools Group and the merger with Dumpton School, heralds a bold new phase in Canford’s evolution, with several further partnerships anticipated.

Reporting to the Director of Estates, the Grounds and Gardens Manager is directly responsible for delivering all the school’s grounds maintenance and improvements, including sports pitches, formal gardens, a golf course, and a large historic tree collection.  The Manager leads four in-house grounds trade teams, and various external specialist contractors and suppliers. They are ultimately responsible for determining the requirements and managing the execution of all planned and reactive grounds maintenance work, preparation, improvements and inspection / testing regimes, and will also assist the Director of Estates with other capital and alteration projects which impact on the grounds and trees as required. 

Successful applicants should have experience of professional grounds management within a school or educational campus environment, be a professional head of grounds extensively experienced within a school or educational campus environment, or be a professional with an expertise in specialist sports (such as golf) or arboriculture.

MAIN PURPOSE:

The maintenance and development of all buildings, plant and grounds at Canford School is the responsibility of the Director of Estates and his team.  The team prides itself on providing a high-quality service in a fully compliant, timely and cost-effective manner, and for excellent communication with other colleagues throughout the school. 

Reporting to the Director of Estates, the Grounds and Gardens Manager is directly responsible for delivering all the school’s grounds maintenance and improvements, and for providing an excellent service. The Manager leads four in-house grounds trade teams, and various external specialist contractors and suppliers. They are ultimately responsible for determining the requirements and managing the execution of all planned and reactive grounds maintenance work, preparation, improvements and inspection / testing regimes, and will also assist the Director of Estates with other capital and alteration projects which impact on the grounds and trees as required.  

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Professional

• To carry out the duties of a Grounds and Gardens Manager in accordance with recognised professional standards.
• To provide leadership and expertise in all key grounds areas – sports grounds, gardens, trees, parkland and golf, ensuring the highest levels of presentation whilst minimising impact on the daily and seasonal school routines. Whilst the post-holder is likely to have specific strengths and experience in particular areas, it is essential that a sound base knowledge of all the key areas at Canford is acquired quickly.
• To be responsible for both the established aspects of short term and long term planned grounds maintenance programmes, and all the annual inspection and testing programmes within set budgets. Ensure natural turf and artificial surfaces are prepared, maintained and renovated to meet the required sports-specific standards.
• Lead on the development and enhancement of ornamental and ecological areas, ensuring they are safe, biodiverse, impactful, efficient to manage and enhance the overall presentation and perceived quality of the school.
• To delegate responsibilities to team members, developing a culture of trust and pride.
• To assist the Director of Estates in running grounds aspects of capital and alteration projects where these impact on grounds and trees.
• To manage the keeping of the whole park in a manner which respects the built heritage and the importance of the historic tree collections / specific national collections.
• To control the river level by use of the sluice gates to meet the needs of the School, rowing and the various statutory agencies.
• To develop strong working relationships with key external regulatory bodies including the local authority tree officers, the Environment Agency and so forth.
• To assist in the maintaining the security of the campus by checking the bona fides of persons walking dogs or using the golf course.
• To manage CAD drawings and records for the school grounds assisted by other members of the Estates Department. To include use of consultancy services as required.
• To focus on getting excellent value for money and reduction of cost through strong negotiation.
• To maintain a tidy and organised office, ensuring all records and files are kept neatly and accurately as part of the Estates Department electronic filing systems.
• To manage assets and effectively and safely organise all grounds maintenance material stocks, training, equipment, vehicles, skips and waste management within allocated budgets. 
• To advise on appropriate equipment, materials and installation methods, considering longevity, durability, value for money and anticipated performance. Follow good practice and keep up to date with new products, tools and techniques.
• To manage and carry out a grounds inspection programme, producing maintenance schedules and records as required.
• To be aware of critical days when areas need to look their best and support all school events including setup and reinstatement.
• To provide an out of hours on-call emergency contact service assisted by the Senior Sports Groundsperson (Deputy Grounds and Gardens Manager).
• To represent the Director of Estates in his absence if required.

Team Management and Leadership

• To provide strong leadership, support and open-door on-site management at all times.
• To encourage camaraderie, teamwork, consideration for others, sharing of resources, vehicles and equipment, and a professional and friendly approach.
• To manage the grounds trades teams and external contractors in all aspects of daily grounds maintenance (including inspection, sports preparation, planned and reactive maintenance work), cost effectively and within agreed time restraints.
• To manage communication effectively and build on existing excellent and open working relationships between  key school colleagues and the various grounds trades teams.
• To manage daily works programming and work with the senior members of the team to manage and prioritise requests, which may come via the “helpdesk” maintenance system. To strive to continuously improve the prioritisation, quality and speed of response to specific requests. 
• To proactively plan team workloads sufficiently in advance to enable efficient and timely material and equipment delivery and to make best use of school vacation periods, and quieter periods in the winter.
• To be responsible for sufficient on-site inspection to ensure quality and quantity are maintained in all trades.
• To establish and maintain a development and training programme for the grounds trades teams and to carry out annual appraisals.

Health and Safety

• To be responsible for the preparation and management of all risk assessments, safe systems of work, COSHH assessments and permits to work for the grounds trades teams.
• To ensure that Estates Department safe working practices are always followed by the grounds trades teams without compromise and that they comply with all health and safety instructions. Take direct responsibility for dealing with observed breaches. To proactively support and lead by example in all matters of health and safety.
• To ensure compliance with the “General Requirements for Contractors” document, the School’s Health and Safety policy and the Safeguarding Children policies by all external contractors and their operatives. Ensure all external contractors are approved on the School’s Approved List of Contractors and Consultants and always provide clear inductions and regular checks on safeguarding compliance.
• Ensure that protection and signs are used to ensure that all pupils, staff and visitors are protected from work areas.
• To act as a qualified first aider for the benefit of the directly managed team and to ensure that enough staff in each trade team are also appropriately trained in first aid.
• To properly maintain personal protective equipment, in accordance with health and safety requirements.
• To ensure that permits to work are assessed and issued in accordance with policy.
• To be responsible for all issued office equipment, tools and team plant, ensuring items are kept serviced and comply with current Health and Safety criteria.

• To continuously strive to improve the health and safety systems in place for the Grounds & Gardens team so that the team can be held up as an exemplar of good practice.
• To be aware of Child Protection Issues and how these affect your work. Attend annual training.

Liaison

• Closely liaise with the other managers in the Estates Department on all matters concerning programming, materials, access, safety and allocation of duties. There will be cross-over and a need for team working to achieve all the school’s requirements in a coherent manner. 
• Attend “Estates HODs”, “Bursary Management Group” and any other meetings as requested.
• Support the aims of the School’s Environmental Policy and support the focus on biodiversity and ecosystem enhancement across the campus.
• Provide support and expertise for other school events, sports sessions, matches, and matters such as the annual Speech Day / Family Day, bi-annual open days and major commercial events.
• Follow the school calendar and attend weekly sports HODS meetings to ensure good two-way communication of changes and needs. Maintain excellent working relationships with all sports staff.
• To bring any issues arising to the attention of the Director of Estates.

Canford School has recently merged with Dumpton School and it is anticipated that the new Canford Group of Schools may grow further over the next few years. This role may evolve and develop as the new group structures are set up and ways of working are aligned and adapted over time.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential 

• Canford School will consider experienced and qualified applicants from one of the following:
  • a senior sports groundsman or gardener with expertise in sports turf and grounds management (GMA/IoG Level 3-5, HND or NVQ Level 4 in Sports Turf, Horticulture, Sports Ground Management or similar) or
  • a professional head of grounds extensively experienced within a school or educational campus environment
  • A professional with an expertise in specialist sports (such as golf) or arboriculture
• Full clean driving licence
• Experience of managing multi-tasked grounds maintenance which ideally will include either commercial or non-public sector environments
• Confidence in working with industry standards and Sport England standards
• Experience in strategically leading a multi-disciplinary in-house and contracted grounds trades team, ideally with an open-door approach
• Knowledge and experience of working proactively within planning constraints - Historic Park, Greenbelt, Tree Protection Orders, flood zones, Conservation Areas
• Experience of managing external contractors and sub-contractors ideally in a highly regulated and sensitive environment
• A clear understanding and general knowledge of contract and supplier management including obtaining value for money
• Budget planning and control skills
• A desire to constantly improve health and safety and to work to the highest standards. 
• IT literate and sufficiently IT competent to be able to use Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Word
• Hard working and tidy with attention to quality and detail
• Able to use initiative and work without supervision, as well as being part of the Estates leadership team. To be able to liaise well and work alongside other estates managers and colleagues to achieve team objectives
• Able to undertake all the physical requirements of the post, ideally including hands-on leadership as required to ensure deadlines and standards are met
• Must have the ability to demonstrate initiative, persistence and self-motivation and enjoy working to tight and rigid deadlines
• Must be flexible with the ability to react to, propose and lead change within the team.
• Keeps up to date with technical developments and embraces change.
• Friendly, approachable and presentable manner, with the skills and ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels
• A flexible, proactive and enthusiastic approach to all matters
• Willingness to undertake health and safety training as required, including first aid training
• Willingness to get “hands-on” with the team as needed and not be shy to muck-in when the pressure is on
• A resilient and practical outlook, at home working outdoors in all conditions
• Excellent personal presentation and appropriate smart appearance at all times
• Willingness to provide an estates management on-call service out of normal work hours (50%), shared with the Deputy Grounds and Gardens Manager
• The ideal candidate will live reasonably near to the School and be flexible to deal with urgent or unexpected matters when on-call out of hours or which require the team to stay late – these are rare but do happen, and can be critical in a 24/7 boarding school environment
• On occasion to be flexible with hours if advantage is to taken of weekend working for grounds works that need to fit around school timetables and other bookings and which require supervision
• In the summer to be flexible on hours to assist the greenkeepers with watering greens on the golf course as weather demands

Desirable

• Evidence of comprehensive health and safety training relating to grounds management (whilst we can provide this a candidate who already has these skills will be at a distinct advantage) 
• Qualified First Aider (training can be provided)
• Some experience and knowledge of grounds machinery maintenance and asset planning would be a distinct advantage as the school plans future investment and replacement programmes
• Knowledge of tree root protection zones and working requirements relating to buried services in a boarding school environment
• A proactive desire to support environmental and biodiversity initiatives
• Customer service experience - the provision of an excellent and calm professional service for our clients is essential and previous experience is desirable
• An ability to use AutoCAD to at least a basic level

Canford School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.”

“All successful job applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening.”